The Outlaw | | Cast : | Jack Buetel, Jane Russell, Thomas Mitchell | | Director : | Howard Hughes, Howard Hawks | | Studio : | Roan Group | | Format : | Black & White, Dolby | | Released Date : | January 01, 1943 | | DVD Released Date : | February 04, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | NR (Not Rated) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | May 23, 2005 | | Summary | "You're not gonna die. I'll get you warm..." | Content
 | Sherriff Pat Garrett (Thomas Mitchell) and Doc Holliday (Walter Huston) are simply the best of friends...until Billy the Kid (Jack Beutel) shows up in town and then steals both Doc Holliday's horse and his beautiful girlfriend "Rio" (played by lusty, busty, 19-year-old Jane Russell!). Holliday somehow forgives and befriends Billy the Kid (turning his back on his old friend Pat Garrett in the process) and together they get into trouble with the sherriff, who shoots Billy the Kid. Lucky for Billy, he's taken to Rio's house where she takes care of him (serving ALL his needs and desires!!!) and nurses him back to good health.
Billy the Kid and Doc Holliday are finally cornered by Sherriff Garrett, and one of the longest western showdowns in history (you wonder if the scene is EVER going to end) results in a tragic death which will change their lives (especially the dead guy!) forever. "The Outlaw", as other reviewers have already stated, suffers from a cheesy and contrived script, and the movie wonders uncomfortably between comedy and drama. And casting the dull, wooden-faced Jack Beutel as the legendary gunfighter Billy the Kid was a huge blunder. Oh well, at least there's Jane Russell's breasttaking, er, I mean breathtaking debut. This totally offbeat western is truly bad, but in a wonderful and entertaining way. Highly recommended! |
| Rating | | | Date | January 23, 2005 | | Summary | One star for each | Content
| Having recently seen the 2004 film THE AVIATOR about millionaire aircraft designer Howard Hughes, I was compelled to see THE OUTLAW, a major motion picture directed by Hughes in 1941. My interest was purely intellectual, mind you. It had nothing to do with the director's fixation on the cleavage and opulent ... well, you know ... of its 19-year old starlet, Jane Russell, which sparked a spirited battle between Hughes and the censors of the Production Code Administration, delayed the film's release until 1943 (and almost immediate withdrawal), and resulted in subsequent edits and re-releases in 1946 and 1950.
Hughes should have stuck with building airplanes.
THE OUTLAW may be a classic, but that doesn't prevent it from also being patently ridiculous. It brings together the outlaw/bad boy Billy the Kid (Jack Buetel), lawman Pat Garrett (Thomas Mitchell), and dentist/gambler/gunfighter Doc Holliday (Walter Huston) in New Mexico in the summer of 1881. Here, the Kid and Holliday get chummy despite quarreling over a horse and Doc's petulant girlfriend, Rio (Russell). In the meantime, Sheriff Pat becomes jealous that his heretofore good friend Holliday is spending so much time with the notorious outlaw Billy, whom Garrett would just as soon arrest or shoot dead for fame's sake. After being chased by the de rigueur band of hostile Native Americans, the four principals - six, if you count Jane's ... well, you know - gather round for a final confrontation. Here, Garrett's attempt to disarm Billy is so dopey and so awkwardly choreographed with unbelievably bad dialogue that it virtually reduces this sagebrush drama to farce. It doesn't help that Buetel's the Kid occasionally comes across as a young and sweet tempered Jimmy Stewart - someone you'd be thrilled to have your teenage daughter marry.
Hollywood never shirks from playing fast and loose with historical fact. So, while viewing THE OUTLAW, one should keep in mind that:
1. Pat Garrett did indeed gun down Billy the Kid in July 1881.
2. There's no evidence that either Garrett or Billy ever met Doc Holliday.
3. Holliday died in his bed of tuberculosis in Glenwood Springs, CO on November 8, 1887.
After seeing this film, I was amazed that Hughes managed to squeeze perhaps 30 minutes of substance into 1 hour and 58 minutes, and that Jane's ... well, you know ... caused such a scandal in shots that were positively innocuous by today's standards. At one point, after Rio falls into a pond, Hughes declined the opportunity to display Russell in full-frontal, wet T-shirt glory. I was crushed, but believe in my heart that Howard considered the option for a brief moment at least.
If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't waste my time with this nonsense. I am, however, awarding two stars - one to each of Jane's ... well, you know. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 05, 2005 | | Summary | I love this quirky movie | Content
| Ok, so it's not a "film." It has interesting little twists that are enjoyable and surprising and has some good characters, too, like the tia. Jane doesn't really act so much as smolder, but that's all right. I liked Jack Buetel even though he wasn't much of an actor (looks like he was in one other western and then vanished from sight). Of course it isn't history anymore than it's art! So I guess the conclusion of this review is that you may need to bring more forgiveness to "The Outlaw" than you would normally bring, but I think it's worth the trouble. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 19, 2004 | | Summary | Not bad, but certainly not history, for those in doubt | Content
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This was the famous Howard Hughes's attempt to break into Hollywood. He's the guy who built The Hughes Took Company into an empire, flew air racers, built the "Spruce Goose", Hughes Air West, and a bunch of other accomplishments. He died a recluse who was obsessed with germs. He was the stuff that fables are made of. Jane Russell was one of his accomplishments.
The movie took seven years, they say, to be released--after it was completed. Hughes directed it. The male lead, Jack Beutel, who played Billy the Kid, was under contract to Hughes, where he languished. Hughes paid him, month after month, but never used him in any other film. He is somewhat reminiscent, in looks, of Audey Murphy (the most decorated soldier in WWII, who played himself in a film.) He reminds me of Murphy. The film depicted a highly fictional relationship between Doc Holliday and Billy (The Kid) Bonney, which is the product of the writer's fevered imagination. Although they were contemporaries, there is no evidence that they ever met. The Kid was a product of the Lincoln County wars (New Mexico), while Holliday was an acquaintance of Wyatt Earp, who came West from Dodge City, Kansas, to Tombstone, Arizona. Probably Earp nor
Holliday ever met Garrett or Billy in their lives. Holliday is played by Walter Huston in the film. The part of Pat Garrett (who actually killed the Kid, and wrote Billy's life story from stories he told him around the camp fire and things they experienced together--a copy of which I have, and have reviewed here) was played by Thomas Mitchell, who, although he played the part impeccably, was perhaps the most dubious job of casting in the film. The contender for that honor would have to be Huston as Holliday. Both highly unlikely candidates for those parts if you are at all interested in historical accuracy or even slight physical resemblance. In short, this has no resemblance to historical fact, although that is no drawback to the story's entertainment value. The only cast member to gain from the film would have to be Jane Russell, who played a few more parts before her career petered out. Nothing of consequence, I think. Huston and Mitchell were already made, and Beutel withered on the vine. Hughes' days as a director were definitely numbered. Joseph (Joe) Pierre
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books |
| Rating | | | Date | March 30, 2004 | | Summary | Just Short of the Mark | Content
| There's no need to recap the plot's synopsis, therefore I'll focus the bulk of my review on the DVD itself, since this is the information I look for in Amazon reviews of items of this type.
This is the edition released by The Roan Group. The disk does fulfill its promise of a 117 minute running time, including credits. A running time of two hours is mentioned in the trailer, but I don't know that I'd call this an accurate indication of the existence of a more complete version; 117 minutes is awfully close to 120. I don't see any evidence of any of the extras mentioned in Amazon's editorial, including the letterboxing of credits, although I had no trouble reading them all on my TV set. I suspect the reviewer is referring to a different release, although I can't imagine which one.
Roan mastered this release from what must have been a very high-quality print because this disk shows very few signs of age. The sound is fine--very clear with no need of cranking (often the case on older films, in my experience). The movie is an entertaining male-bonding romp with great performances all around and Miss Russell looks fabulous. Frankly, there wasn't a boring moment in the whole film--no complaints there. Another nice touch is its keep case; I'm really annoyed with the cheesy snap cases in which so many new releases are packaged.
However, the lack of extras is very disappointing, even for a budget release. One has the option to view the trailer or tbe film by means of a barely-visible prompt, PERIOD. There's no menu, so one can't navigate the specific chapters (although they're numbered on the back cover of the case), and there are no subtitles ("Japanese?"). There's NOTHING but the movie and the trailer. At least one can fast-forward and reverse; I understand that one can't do this on some disks.
Despite this movie's being lots of fun, it rates fewer stars for being a little too bare-bones. 3.5 stars would be perfect but since I can't assign halves, I decided to err on the side of generosity based on its being a really good transfer of an entertaining film. A shame Roan couldn't go the extra mile; so little more is needed. |
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